The US Army has rejected the Trophy Active Protection System for armored fighting vehicles developed by Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd., despite a successful live fire test on March 30. The Trophy system was intended for US Army Stryker 8x8 combat vehicles in operations in Iraq, where they are convenient targets for attackers using advanced rocket propelled grenades (RPGs). The live fire test was carried out at the US Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, on an Israeli Trophy-equipped Stryker flown to the US for the test.
An Israeli defense industry source told “Globes”, “The test was a great success, but the US Army was not convinced. The US Army is locked onto another system being developed by Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), which offers a comprehensive solution to all armored personnel carrier (APC) armor problems. Its only disadvantage is that it will not be ready for production and installation before 2010 or 2011.”
The Trophy system is liable to fall victim to a bureaucratic clash between two US Department of Defense agencies: the Office of Force Transformation (OFT), which is promoting the Trophy system for installation on US Army Strykers; and the US Army high command, which opposes the Israeli system and prefers Raytheon’s solution, even though it is not ready for immediate deployment.
“We were told that the US Army prefers a long-term solution, although it is seeking a solution for immediate problems,” said the Israeli source. “How the Army will cope in the meantime, until Raytheon’s system is ready for production, is another problem.”
The working assumption of agencies in Washington is that Raytheon has no solution for protecting US Army Stykers in the coming months as stipulated in the US Army’s specifications. Disputes within the US Department of Defense has led to leaks to “Defense News”, which wrote in an article praising the Trophy system that opposition within the US Army to the Trophy will have immediate repercussions on combat in Iraq, where the latest top-of-the-line Russian-made RGP 29 rocket launcher is beginning to appear. These RPGs can penetrate the armor of US Army tanks and APCs used in Iraq.
The RPG 29 has a double warhead capable of penetrating reactive armor. The first warhead neutralizes the reactive armor, and the second penetrates the tank or APC’s inner armored layer. “Defense News” quotes sources as saying that Hizbullah agents are smuggling RPG 29 rocket launchers and munitions from Syria to Iraq.
“Defense News” says the Israel’s Ministry of Defense is worried that 60 US Army officers visited Israel for a briefing on the Trophy system, none of them bothered to ask even a single question about it.
Israeli intelligence sources said Hizbullah used the RPG 29 against the IDF. Rafael developed the Trophy system over a decade in response to the challenge posed by the RPG 29 against IDF units in southern Lebanon. The IDF Land Forces Command said the Trophy would enter service with the IDF and will reportedly be installed on Merkava Mark IV tanks.
For Rafael, the US Army’s rejection of the Trophy means the loss of a potential market worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The system costs under $500,000 per unit. The US Army has 1,500 Stryker and other armored fighting vehicles in Iraq.
Sources at Rafael told “Globes” that they had not given up hope, and the Trophy could still become a hit, because of the reality the US Army faces in Iraq: RPG attacks on US Army APCs are constantly killing soldiers. Assuming that Raytheon will not supply the US Army with a solution for immediate installation within the next few months, the Trophy is the only alternative. “It’s impossible to argue with the facts. This is a working system that has proven itself in the most severe tests,” said the source.
Another source said there was a historical precedent for large sales of an Israeli system to the Pentagon after it was initially rejected by the US Army.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 25, 2006
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